Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the King
Of Solomon.
72 God, give the king your good judgment
and the king’s son your goodness.
2 Help him judge your people fairly
and decide what is right for the poor.
3 Let there be peace on the mountains
and goodness on the hills for the people.
4 Help him be fair to the poor
and save the needy
and punish those who hurt them.
5 May they respect you as long as the sun shines
and as long as the moon glows.
6 Let him be like rain on the grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 Let goodness be plentiful while he lives.
Let peace continue as long as there is a moon.
8 Let his kingdom go from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 Let the people of the desert bow down to him,
and make his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and the faraway lands
bring him gifts.
Let the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring their presents to him.
11 Let all kings bow down to him
and all nations serve him.
12 He will help the poor when they cry out
and will save the needy when no one else will help.
13 He will be kind to the weak and poor,
and he will save their lives.
14 He will save them from cruel people who try to hurt them,
because their lives are precious to him.
15 Long live the king!
Let him receive gold from Sheba.
Let people always pray for him
and bless him all day long.
16 Let the fields grow plenty of grain
and the hills be covered with crops.
Let the land be as fertile as Lebanon,
and let the cities grow like the grass in a field.
17 Let the king be famous forever;
let him be remembered as long as the sun shines.
Let the nations be blessed because of him,
and may they all bless him.
18 Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does such miracles.
19 Praise his glorious name forever.
Let his glory fill the whole world.
Amen and amen.
20 This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.
73 You made me and formed me with your hands.
Give me understanding so I can learn your commands.
74 Let those who respect you rejoice when they see me,
because I put my hope in your word.
75 Lord, I know that your laws are right
and that it was right for you to punish me.
76 Comfort me with your love,
as you promised me, your servant.
77 Have mercy on me so that I may live.
I love your teachings.
78 Make proud people ashamed because they lied about me.
But I will think about your orders.
79 Let those who respect you return to me,
those who know your rules.
80 Let me obey your demands perfectly
so I will not be ashamed.
81 I am weak from waiting for you to save me,
but I hope in your word.
82 My eyes are tired from looking for your promise.
When will you comfort me?
83 Even though I am like a wine bag going up in smoke,
I do not forget your demands.
84 How long will I live?
When will you judge those who are hurting me?
85 Proud people have dug pits to trap me.
They have nothing to do with your teachings.
86 All of your commands can be trusted.
Liars are hurting me. Help me!
87 They have almost put me in the grave,
but I have not rejected your orders.
88 Give me life by your love
so I can obey your rules.
89 Lord, your word is everlasting;
it continues forever in heaven.
90 Your loyalty will go on and on;
you made the earth, and it still stands.
91 All things continue to this day because of your laws,
because all things serve you.
92 If I had not loved your teachings,
I would have died from my sufferings.
93 I will never forget your orders,
because you have given me life by them.
94 I am yours. Save me.
I want to obey your orders.
95 Wicked people are waiting to destroy me,
but I will think about your rules.
96 Everything I see has its limits,
but your commands have none.
Moses’ Song
30 And Moses spoke this whole song for all the people of Israel to hear:
32 Hear, heavens, and I will speak.
Listen, earth, to what I say.
2 My teaching will drop like rain;
my words will fall like dew.
They will be like showers on the grass;
they will pour down like rain on young plants.
3 I will announce the name of the Lord.
Praise God because he is great!
4 He is like a rock; what he does is perfect,
and he is always fair.
He is a faithful God who does no wrong,
who is right and fair.
5 They have done evil against him.
To their shame they are no longer his children;
they are an evil and lying people.
6 This is not the way to repay the Lord,
you foolish and unwise people.
He is your Father and Maker,
who made you and formed you.
7 Remember the old days.
Think of the years already passed.
Ask your father and he will tell you;
ask your elders and they will inform you.
8 God Most High gave the nations their lands,
dividing up the human race.
He set up borders for the people
and even numbered the Israelites.
9 The Lord took his people as his share,
the people of Jacob as his very own.
10 He found them in a desert,
a windy, empty land.
He surrounded them and brought them up,
guarding them as those he loved very much.
11 He was like an eagle building its nest
that flutters over its young.
It spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them on its feathers.
12 The Lord alone led them,
and there was no foreign god helping him.
13 The Lord brought them to the heights of the land
and fed them the fruit of the fields.
He gave them honey from the rocks,
bringing oil from the solid rock.
14 There were milk curds from the cows and milk from the flock;
there were fat sheep and goats.
There were sheep and goats from Bashan
and the best of the wheat.
You drank the juice of grapes.
21 It is shameful to me to say this, but we were too “weak” to do those things to you!
But if anyone else is brave enough to brag, then I also will be brave and brag. (I am talking as a fool.) 22 Are they Hebrews?[a] So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they from Abraham’s family? So am I. 23 Are they serving Christ? I am serving him more. (I am crazy to talk like this.) I have worked much harder than they. I have been in prison more often. I have been hurt more in beatings. I have been near death many times. 24 Five times the Jews have given me their punishment of thirty-nine lashes with a whip. 25 Three different times I was beaten with rods. One time I was almost stoned to death. Three times I was in ships that wrecked, and one of those times I spent a night and a day in the sea. 26 I have gone on many travels and have been in danger from rivers, thieves, my own people, the Jews, and those who are not Jews. I have been in danger in cities, in places where no one lives, and on the sea. And I have been in danger with false Christians. 27 I have done hard and tiring work, and many times I did not sleep. I have been hungry and thirsty, and many times I have been without food. I have been cold and without clothes. 28 Besides all this, there is on me every day the load of my concern for all the churches. 29 I feel weak every time someone is weak, and I feel upset every time someone is led into sin.
30 If I must brag, I will brag about the things that show I am weak. 31 God knows I am not lying. He is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is to be praised forever. 32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas wanted to arrest me, so he put guards around the city. 33 But my friends lowered me in a basket through a hole in the city wall. So I escaped from the governor.
A Story About Three Servants
11 As the people were listening to this, Jesus told them a story because he was near Jerusalem and they thought God’s kingdom would appear immediately. 12 He said: “A very important man went to a country far away to be made a king and then to return home. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave a coin[a] to each servant. He said, ‘Do business with this money until I get back.’ 14 But the people in the kingdom hated the man. So they sent a group to follow him and say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15 “But the man became king. When he returned home, he said, ‘Call those servants who have my money so I can know how much they earned with it.’
16 “The first servant came and said, ‘Sir, I earned ten coins with the one you gave me.’ 17 The king said to the servant, ‘Excellent! You are a good servant. Since I can trust you with small things, I will let you rule over ten of my cities.’
18 “The second servant said, ‘Sir, I earned five coins with your one.’ 19 The king said to this servant, ‘You can rule over five cities.’
20 “Then another servant came in and said to the king, ‘Sir, here is your coin which I wrapped in a piece of cloth and hid. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You even take money that you didn’t earn and gather food that you didn’t plant.’ 22 Then the king said to the servant, ‘I will condemn you by your own words, you evil servant. You knew that I am a hard man, taking money that I didn’t earn and gathering food that I didn’t plant. 23 Why then didn’t you put my money in the bank? Then when I came back, my money would have earned some interest.’
24 “The king said to the men who were standing by, ‘Take the coin away from this servant and give it to the servant who earned ten coins.’ 25 They said, ‘But sir, that servant already has ten coins.’ 26 The king said, ‘Those who have will be given more, but those who do not have anything will have everything taken away from them. 27 Now where are my enemies who didn’t want me to be king? Bring them here and kill them before me.’”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.